Pilgrimage
by Aliucon
Summary: In Domino City, a woman that barely even plays Duel Monsters learns that she can see Duel Spirits. One such spirit asks for her help in order to find her lost friends. The adventure promises not to be easy, and take both of them far away from their comfort zone; but while it may not threaten the whole world, the journey will definitely transform those involved in it.
1. Charming Soul

It just stood there, against the wall of an old building. A hooded figure, small in stature, hunched over and covered by a long travelling cloak. Hours later, it had not moved.

Rosetta had found it weird at first sight. She saw the figure when she left for work that day. Not only was it an unusual sight, it made her feel uncomfortable. A cloak that long in the middle of summer was bound to be unbearable. Yet, when her shift ended about 9 hours later, she took the same road back home, and met with the same sight. In the very same place.

Rosetta stopped, and looked on towards the figure for a time.

It was almost creepy, how still it remained. The cloak was brown and ragged, and unaffected by the breeze of hot air that waved across the city. The person's (it _was_ a person, right?) head was angled down enough that the hood made it impossible to make out any features. The legs protuding outward revealed fair skin and surprisingly clean sandals on the feet, but little else.

Rosetta wiped the sweat off her brow. Standing outside without air conditioner for a short while made her feel gross. She couldn't fathom how the other was faring this. Giving in to her curiosity, she took a few steps towards the figure and crouched.

"Excuse me. Are you… alright?"

No response. A passing couple gave her a sidelong glance. Or maybe it was at the person, who still gave no signs of life? Rosetta repeated the last question, with the same result. As she raised her hand to touch the person's shoulder, she noticed something.

A card was laying on the ground, facing down. The back image showed that it was a Duel Monsters card. Rosetta's eyelids drooped. _Of course_ it was a Duel Monsters card. Sometimes it felt like their entire society was based around the game. Covering everything from a professional scene to specific education courses (and even academies), the card game was everywhere and was highly endorsed by pretty much everyone.

Rosetta never liked it, for a few reasons. But most importantly, this was probably from the person sitting in front of her, so despite the fact they had bigger worries than a card, knowing how attached some people were to their decks, Rosetta picked it up, shook off some of the dust and looked at it.

"Lyna, the Light Chamer," she said, under her breath. That was the name on the very top. It depicted a cute girl with a familiar and a wand. She had white short hair, white eyes and delicate hands. It had few stars, something which she noted her brothers would have disliked. But it did make up for it with an effect of sorts.

Before Rosetta could take in everything, however, she finally heard something other than herself.

"Ahh… hot…."

Her eyes widened. She looked behind her, finding only the rest of the street and the sound of the passing cars. It felt like whoever spoke was behind her, but there was no one there. So it had to have come from the person right in front of her, even if that felt... wrong. So she turned again. And spoke again.

"You don't sound great. Do you need help?"

There was some grumbling. The hood shook a bit. The person brought up their hands from under the cloak, to draw the hood down. Rosetta was relieved momentarily, since the person's movements indicated they still had enough strength to act as normal. Now that she could see who it was, she was surprised to see a rather small lady.

She had white hair, white eyes, and…

"... What?"

Rosetta looked down to the card she held. Then up again. There was no mistake.

The card was showing the very same girl that stood in front of her.

Not that _everything_ was the same. The girl on the street had her eyes half-closed, as if she had just woken up from a turbulent night, and wasn't smiling. Her robes and cloak were much more haggard, she lacked the wand or familiar, and her eyes had very little light to them, but it was by all other accounts the very same girl.

Still struck in a state of disbelief, Rosetta now found herself being observed by the girl. This felt creepy in the same vein as the bizarre and unexplained always scares people. But at the same time, the girl looked helpless, and there was an urge to help someone so young, too.

"... Are you OK?" Rosetta insisted.

"Ahh…" The other girl's shoulders slumped and her head tilted downwards. "No… Please take me… anywhere else…"

Now it was Rosetta's turn to go silent. Did she want to take such a detour from home? It had been a long day at work. But this was the right thing to do, wasn't it? Her mother would say something like that. So it was that she arched one of her arms around the cloaked girl to try and bring her up to her feet.

But there was no feedback of her touching anything. It was as if there was nothing there. And in fact, once Rosetta looked again, there was nothing there. No girl, no voice. Just an old building.

All that remained was the card in her hand.

* * *

"I'm home, Ma!"

"Welcome back!"

Even in the suburbs of Domino City, there was at least the appearance of prosperity and wealth. So it was that Rosetta's house did not look bad or small from the outside. It was a wide, two-story building painted in a subdued blue hue, after all. But once one went inside, the illusion cracked. The walls with little infiltrations tarnishing the eggshell paint on the inner walls and the wantom of proper cleaning everywhere made sure of that.

Not that it mattered as much as having someone to come back to. And for Rosetta, that person was her mother. She rested on a blue couch in the living room, visible from the entrance. She was a tall woman, with long auburn hair and broad shoulders. She was an imposing figure, but her greeting carried the most mellow of tones.

"It is so hot today," Rosetta commented off-hand. She strolled across the living room towards a flight of stairs. "I'm gonna take a shower. You don't need anything from the general store for dinner, do you?"

"No, I got all I need. … Is everything alright, dear? You seem pale."

"I think so… It was a long day. Guess I'm just tired."

She had hoped the question didn't come up, which is why she didn't stop along the way to talk more to her mother; but she casually dodged the question once it came, and went up to bathroom, closing the door behind her.

The first thing she did there was go to the sink and splash water on her face. Aside from wiping off sweat, she wanted to give herself a reality check. What had she experienced on the way back home? A hallucination? A particularly strong daydream? It all would be easy to brush off if it wasn't the card in her back pocket, which she felt and drew out to put over the side of the sink, just to remember that it was real. And there was Lyna the Light Charmer, once again.

If it had been real, that couldn't have been a cosplayer. That seemed like a weak card to cosplay, though what did Rosetta know: she definitely didn't play well or enough of the game to know what was good or worth it. More importantly, if it had been a cosplayer, they wouldn't have vanished like this. It was much more likely that she had an hallucination due to heatstroke or something.

Or she could just be going crazy.

The thought made her look up to the mirror placed right over the sink. Green, confused eyes stared back through a little mesh of blond bangs. Her form was much more petite than her mother's, though she shared a broadness of shoulders. It made her feel very out of proportion with the rest of her body, being slimmer with smaller breasts and narrower hips. Yet that whole figure was still all "Rosetta" as she knew herself: and if she could identify that, it hopefully meant she wasn't so out of her mind as she thought.

Setting her doubts aside, she stripped from her work attire (a black buttoned blazer with a white undershirt and social black pants) and underwear, and went straight to the shower. And as the cold water rained down on her, she felt her body and mind settle down a bit. Whatever her previous experience had been, it was done for now, and she could worry about it later.

In fact, she'd settle the issue in her head during the shower. Maybe what she saw was only partially real. She wasn't a fanciful woman, but there had been stories before about cards having more to them than most could see. Yugi Muto sure gave that impression on some interviews, though Rosetta couldn't recall it all right now. In some of his televised games, he almost seemed to talk with her cards or believe in their hearts, or something. She had to grasp for straws on any info about Duel Monsters without her brothers at home.

Nonetheless, maybe there was something to that. She thought she saw the spirit of this card; might as well talk to it. The worst that could happen is nothing, and she'd feel silly for even trying.

A few minutes later, she was back in her room, brushing her hair and fully dressed again, in a more comfortable set of clothes. She brought the card with her and set It on the bed. Then, half-smiling to herself, she spoke up.

"Lyna?"

For a few moments, there was no response, as one would normally expect. It wasn't like the fictional monster was just going to pop up into reality from her card like a genie leaving its lamp when summoned. And that indeed didn't happen.

What did happen is that said monster walked in through the solid closed door with a spring on her step and sparkle in her eyes.

"Did I hear that right!? You called me?"

Rosetta jumped from her bed. An awkward moment passed, after which she just managed to stammer something out.

"Oh, I… I did, but sure didn't… expect it to work! What even… H-How…"

She had settled down on the fact this was not going to work, so she had been ill-prepared for what to do if it did work. She might still be crazy, talking to ghosts like that, but Lyna perked up with a smile.

"Hey, I was surprised too! I was afraid that you talking to me earlier had been a coincidence or whatever! But you DO see me! I'm so glad!"

Was this how it felt, to be the protagonist of a movie that just got to experience something surreal happening right in front of them? Should she treat this as normal for the time being? What does one even do at this point?

More questions, probably. Rosetta decided to start from the beginning.

"So… you're Lyna, right?" She looked down at the card. The static image was still there. "The… Light Charmer?"

"Lyna's the name, yes!" The girl puffed out her chest and put one hand to her hips. Only now did Rosetta realize she was still using the travelling cloak, unlike shown on the image. "I'm a student of magic! Well, at least I was."

Rosetta scratched her head. "So you're not just a monster, then…?"

"I'm sorta stuck with that," she said, eyes looking to the side and the smile gaining more of a bittersweet undertone. "I mean… I am bound to that card, no question about it. I can't stray too far from it. And it is a card for duels and stuff, so I am a monster in it. But it wasn't always like that!"

"Can you… elaborate on that?"

It was surreal, talking to something that might as well be a hyperactive figment of imagination. Rosetta was entertaining the questions, but she still strayed away from accepting it.

"It feels like it's been forever ago," Lyna began, crossing her arms and tilting her head. "But me and my friends studied magic in an island, faaaar to the south! We were all trying to find ways that elemental magic can be used to make the world a better place! Each of us focused in a specific kind of magic, and we'd talk about it through the rest of the day! Our teacher said that, when we felt ready, we'd be able to rejoin the rest of the world and-"

"So you have memories of all that. But you don't know how long ago it was?"

Rosetta interrupted due to almost tuning the whole thing out once it got going. It had been a long day, and though what she said to her mother to dodge the question was that she was tired, only now did she feel that she legitimately felt tired now.

In response, Lyna pouted.

"Hey, you asked for it in the first place! But yeah, I don't remember exactly. It's like… I've been wandering for years. I don't know how long I've been bound to this card, or WHY it happened… But this is where I need to say something important!"

Decisive, Lyna took enough steps forward that she could reach Rosetta, and raised her hands, as if she was going to place them in Rosetta's shoulders. The complete lack of impact to her actions in the physical world was probably the most unsettling thing about the approach for Rosetta.

"Please, I have a big favor to ask! But I can't do it if I don't know you! Tell me about yourself!"

"... Uhh…"

The request came out very strong, but Lyna said nothing else for now. She seemed to stand by it as it was. Rosetta thought about it. The worst that could happen was that she was talking to herself, right? So maybe she could keep this going to its logical (or illogical) conclusion anyway.

"OK…? What do you need to know?"

"Hm… The basics! Your name, age, what magic you study, that kind of stuff. Or, I suppose in your case would be 'what things do you study'…?"

Did that mean she only had a rough idea of how the contemporary world worked? Rosetta didn't know whether to consider that legit or just funny.

"OK, well… My name is Rosetta Kischner. I'm 23. I'm not studying anything, actually. I work as a brand clothing store attendant in the local mall." She stopped and looked. If she could trust Lyna's facial expressions, what she said last probably didn't register, but her eyes still exuded seriousness. "Both my brothers are studying in Duel Academy, if that's of any interest to you-"

"Oooh, you have siblings! That must be really nice!" The speed at which Lyna shifted from intense to easy-going was remarkable for Rosetta, which rubbed one hand in her temple to sort things out in her mind.

"Don't lose track now. What is it you wanted to ask? I doubt I can be much help, so I don't really want to commit to anything too big."

"Ahhh… but… Wait! P-Please, I beg you, just… hear me out first…"

Again, she shifted fast. Now she made sad noises that would make a puppy sniffing sound uplifting by comparison. Rosetta crossed her arms, but had her ears perked.

"You're the first person that can see me that I've seen in… forever! It's really good to be able to talk and feel like someone's listening… You have no idea! O-Or maybe you do, I shouldn't assume, but the point IS that, um… first, I'm thankful to you, but… It's also the first time I can make the request I've wanted to make all this time."

Lyna took a deep breath. Rosetta was somewhat aware that she had not breathed a single time during this whole talk, so the motion was pure time stall.

"I… want to find my friends. They're out there, I know it! I'm not the only spirit around, you know. They're not awfully common, but they're there, and I'm certain the others are, as well! I… I really want to see them again. I'd search however long it took. But I can't do it alone, since… I'm bound to this card."

Rosetta glanced back at it. How perky Lyna looked in it. She must have been a very happy-go-lucky kind of girl. Rosetta almost felt jealous of it. But she couldn't when the same person was pouring her heart out on the side.

"I know we've just met now, and… I'm sure you have a life to take care of! But please! Carry me around, wherever you go!" Lyna's tone got all the more intense as the sentence went. "I just need to have a way to go around and search for my friends! A-And you can listen to me! I couldn't ask for better help than that! A-And hey! I can help you too! You play Duel Monsters, right? I'm a pretty good card myself!"

She beamed again, though it was clearly to sell herself some credibility and not because she meant it. Still, Rosetta sighed.

"I do have a deck, but… I never really liked the game," Rosetta said, weighing her words so as to not hit Lyna too hard. "It's a good game, but everybody seemed to see some appeal to it that… I'm not sure I did. Most of my deck are hand-me-downs from my brothers', anyway. It's not very well put together."

"All the more reason to get an awesome card, right?"

Rosetta looked up to the other's face. Her smile didn't faulter. It was contagious: she was barely able to stifle some laughter.

"I wouldn't mind that," Rosetta admitted, "but the point was that I'm not really out there looking for other duelists. I don't think it'd be good for you to stay with me, if you want to go out there."

Somewhere along the day, this started to sound like a casual, cohesive conversation. Rosetta had surprised herself. She even had an idea on how to act on this- one that was going to be weird to explain to anyone other than the two in her room, but it could work.

Lyna, however, despite not losing her smile, was visibly trying to accept the situation.

"That is fine! I mean… keeping watch of an area is good! Spread yourself too thin and you don't get anything done! That's what our teacher used to say, about magic and life. Hahah… And I have to count my blessings. Just being able to talk is a HUGE plus! Girl, I could talk your ear off about all the stuff from my past and that happened to me…"

"... About that. Lyna. Do you think your friends would be Duel Monsters cards too?"

Lyna nodded.

"I know that for sure. I may not remember how we got this way, but… I remember being with all of them in the beginning, before we got scattered against our will."

"I see. And you know of Duel Academy, right?"

"Eh? Uh, yeah! It's one of the biggest dueling schools in the world! … I think. But I've never been to it. Why?"

"Well, you being a Duel Monsters card, it sounded like a place of that kind would give you the biggest chance to find your friends, right? Not to mention that it's the most likely place to find someone that could get you to more places than I ever could. Maybe even someone else that talks to spirits. I don't think I'm special or anything, so if I can, there's gotta be other people who can."

That was simple logic right there, but Lyna took it well. Her eyes definitely got more shine than previously.

"That's true! Going there would be a great idea! So, take me there, please!"

"... Uh."

"What?"

Rosetta blushed. She was good at concocting the plans, or getting the idea behind something. She wasn't as good at executing it. On her mind, she'd just have sent her card in a mail to her brothers or something and be done with it, but upon thinking about it more, that would have been pretty cruel. This wasn't just any card: it was a card with a spirit that, so far as she could see, had all the same feelings a human did.

Which meant…

"Y-You want me to go to Duel Academy?" Rosetta stammered.

"Yeah! I mean, you were the one to suggest it! And it is a great idea!"

"B-But I'm working, and I said I don't play it that well. Also, the Academy is on an island. They don't tend to take visitors for no reason."

In response, Lyna wore her biggest smile and acted as if she was tapping Rosetta's shoulder."

"Details, details. If you know the start and the end of a journey, the middle is much easier, even if it's not any less important! That applies to studying magic, but I think it'd apply to anything, really! So I'm sure you can find a way! You already had a great idea as is!"

"Flattery doesn't help me magically find a way, though," Rosetta said, smiling amidst her blushing.

"I know. But hey, I got time! It's not like I'm going anywhere in the meantime."

That made an awkward silence reign in the room. Rosetta was suddenly aware of the situation as it stood, and it started feeling much more real in her mind. For a moment, she thought about the situation from Lyna's perspective, and it made her stomach sink. Trapped and incapable of moving on for who knows how long, at the whims of someone else that may not even have been aware of her existance. It made her hold her breath just imagining it.

There was still the distinct possibility that her brain was on a daydream trip the likes of which she never had before, or that she was genuinely having hallucinations.

But if this story had any chance to be real, it felt worth to try and act upon it.

Before Rosetta could reply, however, Lyna tried poking her. It didn't work, but the motion called her attention.

"Could you please turn on that air thingy? It makes the room colder, doesn't it? I was burning alive out there…"

"Oh! Sure."

Rosetta had felt refreshed after the shower, but it was still a very hot day. So she stood up and turned the air conditioner unit on. The house might have been nothing special, but good furniture and several household comforts were actually pretty cheap in Domino City.

In less than a minute, the room was feeling more chilly. Lyna, in response, removed her cloak, under which she was using an attire much like it showed in the card: a khaki robe and a bodysuit with two leather belts in a wide 'X' on the waist. The concept of a spirit getting rid of clothing was so alien to Rosetta that she deliberately decided not to think too hard on it. Especially when she started to strip that clothing as well and flopped down on Rosetta's bed with nothing, whilst singing out a very satisfied sigh.

"Thaaaaaaank you. Haaah, this feels much better. Please leave my card here."

"... I need to sleep too, y'know." Rosetta said, raising an eyebrow. Lyna giggled in response.

"You can do that still! You'll phase right through me, anyway!"

She couldn't argue with that. The logistics behind everything was questionable, however. After all, Lyna didn't phase through the bed, even though she went through the door earlier.

"How do you feel hot or cold if you're a… err… spirit of sorts? And how can you stay in my bed if you could go through things?"

"Magic!" Lyna replied immediately, with a happy chuckle. Rosetta felt she should be angered by this casual dismissal, but she ended up laughing as well. She just took it as an 'I don't know either'.

"Well, OK. … Um… Lyna, I'll see if I… come up with a plan. To leave you in better hands, or to find your friends. I just… need to sort this all out in my head. I mean, I've never known that spirits like these could exist, and based on-"

"Thank you."

Rosetta looked down. Lyna had laid on her side without a sound, and had a little sheepish smile in her face while her eyelids drooped in plain tenderness, or possible sleepiness. Her voice had also been as straightforward and sweet as it had been through their talking, maybe even moreso. It could be a resignation, but it felt more like a comfortable, inner peace took her over, which shut Rosetta up.

Maybe she needed her time to rest in this new-found comfort. That seemed good for Rosetta to do as well. But for now, she needed to straighten up this whole encounter in her head. And so it was that, for now, she opened the door and left her room.

There was one person she could always count on to formulate the best plans, or just to talk things out. And hopefully she wouldn't be too much a bother while her mother prepared dinner and she talked to her about all (or at least some) of what had just happened.


	2. Brewing Willpower

"What brought this on, all of a sudden?"

Rosetta looked away, thoughtful. She had been standing against the kitchen wall, swinging left and right, talking to her mother and trying to make her sudden wish to go to Duel Academy for a time not sound too awkward. So far, she had been as successful as she could have hoped. The only problem would be explaining the motive.

"Well, it's… not just one thing," Rosetta said, meandering around the topic. "And I don't plan to study there- I don't want to lose my job. But I've realized I never gave the place a chance and… I guess I miss my brothers a little."

Did that sound plausible? She hoped so. She could not see her mother's expression, as she was turned towards the oven and stirring a small pot. A frying pan next to it had some vegetables steaming.

"If you can get the leave from your workplace, I don't see why not. It's your life now, Rose. Just make sure you have a way to go before asking for the time off. Frankly, I'm just glad to hear that willingness coming from you!"

Rosetta's expression would have been a pained smile if she didn't soon mask it with a chuckle.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She knew it too well, despite the playful defiance. Her mother did not pursue the subject, but there was no question that she knew it too.

"Help me here, please. Keep stirring. I gotta get something."

"Sure."

They didn't get back to the subject. As they ate together soon after, topics like their workplace, minor news reports and the new soap opera Rosetta's mother was into filled the conversation. It was just like any day in Rosetta's life; and by the end, she half-expected to find herself alone once she went back to her room.

But lo and behold, Lyna was still there, snoring and sprawled on her bed, wearing as little as she had been when first falling asleep.

Rosetta still had her doubts about the whole thing, but the fact that the rest of the day had been perfectly normal helped her inevitably accept the situation. And in a way, that also felt relieving. If she hadn't imagined all of this, she really WAS up for an adventure soon enough. One like she had never had in her simple, rather stagnant life.

She took a deep breath, and went about getting ready for bed.

* * *

The next day started and flowed much faster than Rosetta expected.

She woke up later than usual, on account of having felt tired the last day ever since she met Lyna. This meant she had to get dressed for work and her hair brushed quickly; if she was going to ask for a day or two out, the least she should do is show up on time.

This was the first time she had to do so with someone following her every move, however.

"Ohh, you're dressing the same as yesterday! Great! So many people seem to like wearing something different every day! It gets confusing."

Lyna followed Rosetta's movements in the room. When the wardrobe was left open, she inspected the inside with the same wonder that a child might get upon opening a mystery present.

"I have to wear this," Rosetta said, buttoning the blazer all the way. "It's from the store's brand. We'll be showing off how it can look to potential customers immediately by doing that. Or… at least that's what my boss said."

"I see!" Lyna said, her voice not muffled at all despite the fact she had buried herself in the sea of clothes on the wardrobe. "That is really strict, though! It looks cool, but who dresses like that in the summer?"

"You're one to talk, Miss Magician Robe."

"I don't have a choice!" Lyna exclaimed, and Rosetta saw her unearth her ethereal face from the clothing just to show a fake angry face. "They are the only clothes I can mess with while like this! … And I don't think it matters either way.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… I think the clothing I use doesn't matter. It's more about what affects the card."

Lyna looked towards the bed, and just then Rosetta remembered the card had been there when she slept, and not just Lyna's silhouette.

"I mean, I'd like to thing it helps," Lyna said, cheering on her own voice after the sudden drop in energy. "That's why I bother dressing up at all! But y'know, I guess that's just how it really is."

Rosetta didn't reply. The reality of Lyna's situation made her feel sick, the more she accepted it as plain truth. She shook her head, and after a quick check that she was now ready to go, Rosetta announced.

"OK, I'm going now. After my shift, we-"

"A-Ah, wait! Take me with you!"

Lyna spoke up fast on that one. Rosetta recovered from the surprise only a few seconds later.

"Right. I probably should, shouldn't I…" Rosetta said to herself, bringing a hand to her chin in thought.

"You don't… want to?"

"... It's not that. I just… I'm not going to be able to talk to you a lot, or keep track of-"

"That is fine! I don't mind! I won't distract you too much either! Just… please."

Rosetta looked up. Lyna hadn't sound desperate or angry. Just sad. Or even afraid. Afraid of what? Thinking about it, Rosetta remembered what she had said about her past the previous day. About how hard it was to find anyone that could hear her. About how her ultimate goal was to find her friends again.

"O-OK", Rosetta said, spinning on her heel and grabbing the card over her bed. "Sorry. That was silly of me. I guess I still haven't wrapped my head around everything that this whole… _situation_ involves."

For a moment, relief washed over Lyna's face, but she soon was dismissively waving her hand.

"It's OK! I was just… err… you probably don't have time for it. You're already late, aren't you?"

After Rosetta retrieved the card, however, she bent over to open a drawer on the side of the bed. There was not much inside, save for a purple deck box, a tad bit dusty. Rosetta took it, brushed off the excess dust with her hand and opened it. Seeing this, Lyna hovered closer.

"Ooooh, hey! Is that your deck? Add me, add me!"

Rosetta smiled briefly, and put Lyna's card along with the rest. The spellcaster cheered.

"Hey, what kind of deck IS it, anyway?" Lyna asked, after the initial euphoria. Rosetta fiddled with the box, mostly out of embarrassment.

"It's… not very good. When my brothers lived here, they were the ones who scraped their allowances to get good cards. I was never too into the game, so… I just got whatever they didn't mind giving me."

"That sounds kind of unfair," Lyna commented, crossing her arms and nodding her head, as if confirming her own statement. Rosetta chuckled.

"I wasn't getting my own money in things, so it doesn't feel unfair at all. Why do you mind? Didn't you say you were an awesome card? Are you scared you can't carry the team to victory?"

"Waah-"

That got Lyna off-guard, but she recovered just as quickly.

"You're right! I don't need to worry! I'll carry you to victory myself, just you wait."

As Lyna boasted and tried to make herself the slightest bit bigger by standing on her toes while showing off, Rosetta opened the blazer just enough to put the deck on an inner pocket, then buttoned it again.

"OK. Trusting you on this," she said, before finally leaving her room, with Lyna close behind.

* * *

She arrived late to work that day.

Thankfully, it didn't impact on her request for some time off during lunch break. Her boss was an understanding woman, so even when the reason for the leave was not compulsory, Rosetta would still be granted it. Unpaid leave, of course. But for what should be a short excursion at best, that would be acceptable.

The day didn't drag as much as other days. The other female attendants like Rosetta didn't talk much between themselves, even when not many customers were entering the store, but it was undoubtedly entertaining to see what Lyna did around them.

The spirit spent the first hour in the store looking over the clothing and swooning over the more expensive pieces, but later she took to sprinting around, making funny faces in an attempt to get Rosetta to chuckle, and imitated other girl's gestures as they talked to a client, in an exaggerated way. It was a child's way of making things fun for themselves and their audience, but she looked the part, so it was appropriate.

"I'm an adult!" Lyna said, blushing, when Rosetta made a passing comment about her kid-like behavior. "I turned 19 before I got like this!"

"... There's no way that's true," Rosetta said under her breath, so as to not call the attention of people that could hear her. "How are you so small, then?"

"Better question. How are YOU so big?!" She asked, flailing her arms comically fast. "I was just the right size on my island! The only one taller than me was Aussa!"

Throughout the day, there were small bursts of conversation like this, which helped speed things up even more. In no time, it was late afternoon, and Rosetta's shift had ended.

* * *

Rosetta didn't go home.

Using the time she had now and with Lyna already alongside her, she decided to make the plans to visit Duel Academy right away. The biggest hurdle was how to get there. Duel Academy was on an island, and going there by helicopter or something was too much for Rosetta's budget. She even called the Academy to know whether they were accepting visitors or had any way for bringing someone in despite it not being the season for entrance exams. The response was a cordial negative.

"That is OK!" Lyna nodded, having followed the call well enough from the side. "If we can't go this way, there must be other ways to get there."

"... Lyna, the academy is saying they're not taking just any visitor." Rosetta said, fiddling with the cell phone still on her hand. "Even if there was some other way to go there, they might not take kindly to us just showing up in private property."

"Well, but we gotta do something! Besides, isn't that something you'd have to get straightened out before even asking for some time out at work?"

Rosetta didn't reply immediately. Instead, she hung her head in shame. It was true, and even her mother had given that advice to her. By the time she had gotten to work, however, Rosetta had forgotten it. As much as she didn't grasp Lyna's situation all too well yet, she did feel the urgency of it since that morning.

"... Fair enough," Rosetta answered, pocketing her cellphone. "I guess we do have to make the most of it. But what other ways to get there do we have?"

"A boat!" Lyna promptly suggested. "That's how my teacher travelled from the island to the mainland!"

Rosetta thought it over.

"Well, a boat would definitely be cheaper… And the academy does have a ferry. But we can't just show up in one uninvited and expect them to take us in."

"Then just don't take a boat from the academy! Won't any boat do? Then let's go to the pier right now and see if someone's willing to take us!"

Rosetta looked up to the smiling Lyna. It was funny. It had been Rosetta that had the idea to go there, and outlined how it'd be possible to do it, but It was definitely Lyna that knew how to push the idea through no matter the complication. As random as the idea was, it was still the best bet they'd have. Conceding the point, Rosetta nodded.

"We'd still be invading private property when we get there, but..."

"It wouldn't be an adventure without a little risk!" Lyna insisted.

So it was decided. Rosetta began to move. For this venture, it just so happened that she'd need no public transport. One of the perks of living where she did, somewhat in the suburbs of Domino City, was that she lived near the biggest port of the city, and she had often strolled along the cool waters for a refreshing and contemplative afternoon. It'd be just like that, except with some actual business to take care of there.

Once she got there, it was clear that it was a busy day. Ships were filling the coast, big and small, and people hurried up and down. Many men unloaded cargo, while others just relaxed out of their ships or checked fishing equipment. One boat had an immense bounty of fish on their net, and the smell was very powerful.

Rosetta had never seen it so full. Some anxiety started brewing. Lyna seemed perfectly fine.

"There's so many! Wow! Ah, that is a cute boat. Well, go on, then! We gotta talk to them!"

"Y-Yeah. I'm just… looking for the right kind of person."

"Hm? What does that mean?"

Rosetta didn't reply, as not even she was sure of it. Just anyone she might be more comfortable addressing amongst all these busy men that she felt would all have much more important things to deal with than her request.

As it happened, however, she found herself being addressed before taking that first step.

"Hey, lady! You lost or something?"

Rosetta turned. The call had come from someone on the closest pier. It was a stout man of pretty dark skin, strong and clean shaven, which made him seem in his thirties at the very most. He wore a vest and shorts, all colored blue, and a gray bandana tending towards the back of his head, so that it still showed a mess of dark and unkempt hair in the front. Though he looked like a fisherman from his clothes and the boat at the end of his pier being a rather big fishing boat, he didn't really smell compared to the rest of the port.

"Oh, no," Rosetta was quick to point out, despite the daze of the sudden interjection. "I have a reason to be here. In fact, maybe… you could help me, sir."

"If you're looking from fish straight outta the water, you gonna have to talk to the others," the man said, very plainly. He had the hint of an accent to his voice, though Rosetta could not figure out what it was. "I didn't get no fish today. Just enough for myself."

"It's not that," Rosetta insisted, feeling more awkward by the minute. She took a deep breath before asking. "Your vessel seems big. Would you take passengers?"

One of the man's eyebrows raised. Rosetta noticed they were really thick.

"You gonna ask me that instead of them cruises?"

"Not an option for me."

"Why?"

Rosetta bit her lip.

"I don't have a lot of money, and… I don't know if I should actually go where I want to go?"

There was probably not a more awkward way of presenting the situation to a possible benefactor. Thankfully, after a moment of silence, the man started laughing.

"Interesting! Not just a cheapskate, maybe a criminal. Lady, you gonna kill me outta curiosity."

Lyna, who had been observing the whole exchange, took the effort to get in Rosetta's point of view and throw her a judging glance.

"Wow. You're not very good at this, are you?"

" _Shut up_ ," Rosetta muttered through gritted teeth. Then she took a proper deep breath and went on to explain her situation. "It's nothing criminal or anything of the sort. I'm interested in going to Duel Academy, but they're not accepting anyone who isn't a student right now. I just need to be there for a day."

The man considered what Rosetta said for some time. A few seconds later, he shook his head.

"... Not buying it."

"Eh…?"

"What's your name, lady?"

Rosetta stopped herself before blurting out that the question didn't seem like it had anything to do with the situation.

"Rosetta."

"Good. Name's Hammond. Now, you've not told me why you need to make this trip. Thought getting to know each other might ease you up a little. How about it?"

Rosetta was awed into silence. The fact that this man, bigger than herself, thought that just knowing each other's name was getting to know each other was something she did not expect to deal with. She scratched her neck, unsure of what to say.

"It… doesn't really matter what I'm doing so long as I pay you, does it?"

"You're definitely a city girl."

The remark made Rosetta scowl.

"If you're bothered by it, then I'll just leave you alone."

On the side, Lyna seemed like she wanted to protest, but the man spoke faster than she did.

"How about we make a deal?"

"... What kind of deal."

"You wanna go to Duel Academy. You play Duel Monsters, right?"

Oh no. Rosetta knew where this was going. And though her stomach started turning in dread, Lyna's eyes started sparkling.

"I guess. Why do you ask?"

"How about we duel right here? If I win, you tell me the reason you wanna go and I charge you just as normal. You still get to go. But if you win, then I'll take you, no more questions, and you gonna only pay for what you eat on my boat. Deal?"

It was so weird. Rosetta never found herself in these situations. It wasn't uncommon for people to decide things by a casual game of Duel Monsters: she knew it herself that the game was revered and adored by most of the population. But she only saw other people be put on the spot of dueling for a cause, or, like in the case of some soap operas, for their lives. And now here she was, being formally challenged.

Rosetta looked at Lyna, which seemed giddy about the thing, and nodded enthusiastically, encouraging Rosetta to accept. She sighed. The worst that would happen was that she might embarrass herself by talking about spirits, right? The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like the odds were actually in her favor here.

Though that just made her wonder what was this fisherman's endgame.

"... Alright. I accept your challenge."

* * *

They stood looking at each other, length-wise on the pier. Both had a duel disk on their wrists, of the exact same model. Rosetta didn't actually own an official dueling disk: this one was provided by Hammond himself, who apparently had them stashed in the boat. His wife used to love dueling, he said, and he kept her duel disk nearby. As soon as they were seen with those, some of the men that had been done with the brunt of their work either lined up to watch or gave them an occasional glance.

"Yes! Our first duel," Lyna said, still very much satisfied with the outcome. "Do your best! Don't worry too much about your deck! I'm sure you can pull it off."

Rosetta didn't answer, so as to not burst her bubble too early, and to not look like she was talking to herself to the others. And it was time to start, anyway.

With the disks turned on, both flashed the counter of Life Points up to 4000, and from there, the game was set.

"Duel!" Hammond said, enthusiastically. Rosetta missed the cue to say it with him, so she filled the void with what she thought appropriate.

"You can… go first."

"Very well." Hammond drew an extra card, and his eyes scrolled through the cards.

Rosetta found that interesting. Her brothers, when they played, were very quick to decide what to do once they got used to their cards. She could only hope that meant he didn't know how to play as well as she imagined everyone did..

"I Set a monster!" Hammond announced, and sure enough, the holographic cards took the field. This was something that Rosetta was often impressed by: how many holograms these disks could produce, and pretty much in any given environment too. "I place one other card face-down. You can go."

"Ok! Draw!" Rosetta did as she said, and looked across her cards. Lyna also spied on them, face contorting with effort.

"I never saw any of those cards…" She said, thoughtful. "That's a lot of normal monsters…."

Rosetta didn't reply. She went on to make her move.

"Let's start! I summon Moon Envoy!"

The monster erupted on the field: a warrior, with blue armor and a crescent moon-shaped spear. As it stood, its attack flashed for on-lookers to be aware: 1100.

"Uhh… Rosetta, that's-" Lyna tried talking, but her friend spoke over her.

"Moon Envoy, attack the face-down monster!"

The warrior dashed forward, stabbing the hologram of the card face-down with both points of its lance. However, once it flipped, both points had missed a tiny sea creature, with many edges and a pointy tail. When it appeared, it flung itself against the armor, and Rosetta was scared by the feedback that she felt on the duel disk.

"Ack!"

Her Life Points had decreased. They were now 3800.

Whispers sounded behind her. Whispers she was sure were of wonder on how pathetic that card had performed. Of how that deck was probably garbage. Rosetta imagined a lot of things, but she shook her head. She wasn't going to hear it. At least Hammond wasn't saying anything.

"I place a card face-down and end my turn," she said, disheartened. Taking the cue, Hammond drew, and nodded.

"Get ready! I summon Golden Flying Fish!" He snapped one card into place, and the hologram of a fish really came from above, hovering by the side of the creature he had set before. "I'll also get my Deep Sweeper in attack position!"

Both monsters hovered in place. Rosetta saw the flashes of their attack points. 1700 from the fish, 1600 from the sweeper. She grimaced.

"You look like a fish out of water, lady," Hammond teased, to which Rosetta responded by shooting him an unamused face.

"I was just thinking how original it is that a guy who owns a fishing boat has a fish deck."

"Gotta get feisty, huh?" Hammond smiled, despite the comment. "You should put some more of that heart into this, y'know? Now, Golden Flying Fish, attack her envoy!"

The fish did nothing but seemingly flop in the air; and yet, it did it with such force that it made the warrior break into smithereens. Again, Rosetta's duel disk changed its listing with a shake, now reading 3200.

"And now, Deep Sweeper! Attack her Life Points directly!" Hammond commanded with a dramatic wave. The creature in question sped up against Rosetta at a terrifying speed, but she also raised her hand.

"I activate my trap card! Abyss Stungray!"

The Sweeper was stopped before a body of light surging from the card that was just flipped. It took the form of a shiny manta ray of round features, with complex patterns of white and blue. Its tiny pink eyes looked forward, as if ready to pounce.

"Once this card is activated, it becomes a monster on my side of the field! It has 1900 attack points, and it cannot be destroyed by battle! If you continue your attack, your effort will be all in vain!"

Rosetta made it sound as certain as she could manage, but instead of intimidating, Hammond seemed to just nod and smile.

"Good move! I retract my attack. But I still can deal with your little friend."

"... What?"

Not being destroyed by battle made this one of the cards she liked the best. It saved her countless times in her youth. So having it be dismissed so casually was disconcerting. Lyna tried to tap Rosetta's shoulder to call her attention, but it went right through her, and she didn't see it.

"See, my Deep Sweeper has a special ability! If I sacrifice him, I can destroy any spell or trap card on the field. And guess which one I'd choose."

"... Damnit." Rosetta gritted her teeth.

"Now, Deep Sweeper, wipe the floor with that stungray!"

As if it was a deadly saw, the creature's spikes began to rotate, and it charged the shiny manta ray at full force. The trap was cut in half, and destroyed. Once the sweeper stopped sweeping, it also got destroyed.

"Your move, Rosetta! Make it count!"

"Ack… draw!" She took a card, more aggressively than before. After a glance, she made her move. "I summon Green Phantom King!"

The monster that appeared now was a youthful one, with long elf-like ears, and the face of a human despite the fact his hands and feet seemed to be made out of vines. Its attack of a measly 500 did not impress on-lookers, who were talking again.

"Now I activate an Equip Spell! Moon Mirror Shield!"

After placing it in the right zone, Rosetta's monster took the golden round shield in one hand, and set it forward.

"Your equip didn't give your monster any attack points," Hammond remarked, cautiously. "What's the catch?"

"You'll see. Green Phantom King, attack Golden Flying Fish!"

The non-human charged forward, approaching the fish, but just before they collided, hands made out of water erupted and got a hold of Rosetta's monster.

"What?"

"It's my face-down card! Poseidon Wave!" Hammond explained, crossing his arms, but having a satisfied smile in his face. "If you try to attack me, I can negate your attack, and then you take 800 damage for every fish monster of mine! Even one hurts, as you'll see NOW!"

He waved forward, and the water hands flung Rosetta's monster back at her. Despite it being a hologram, she screamed and covered herself to brace for an impact that never came. Which only resulted in more embarrassment when she continued, now with her Life Points reading 2400.

"F-Fine. It doesn't matter. You just delayed it. I end my turn."

"So it is my turn! Draw!" Hammond took his new card, and once again, took the time to read. Rosetta realized he still had 5 cards on hand, and she had fewer. Things didn't look good, but she felt like she had presence on the board at last.

"Seems like your Equip spell is gonna give you the advantage in battle," Hammond said, in a matter-of-factly tone. Rosetta nodded.

"Whether it's you or me that attacks, any battle involving my Green Phantom King will make it so his attack becomes the attack of the other monster, plus another hundred. So you can't win by fighting against him!"

Rosetta would be sure of that, but the eventuality with the Stungray made her fear for the outcome of the duel.

"I don't intend to. Gotta find another way. Come on out, Friller Rabca!"

The summoning involved an elongated, eel-like yellow fish with sharp edges protruding from its body swim into the battlefield. It seemed weak to Rosetta when the attack flashed at 700, but Hammond continued.

"Now, you will see my Golden Flying Fish's special ability! So long as I tribute one Fish-type monster from my side of the field, I can destroy any card on the field!"

"What!?"

Another removal by effect. Rosetta was stunned. Was this just normal? She hadn't played in a long while, it was true, but she had always known battle to be very important. But now she felt she couldn't get the edge on anything with it.

"Your phantom king is gonna go down! Flying Fish, do your thing!"

The newly-summoned eel disintegrated in the air, and just as easily, Rosetta's monster, and her spell, were blown up into little pieces.

"Now you're wide open! Go, Golden Flying Fish! Bouncing Airstrike!"

Once again, the fish flopped up to the sky, and crashed down on the opposing duelist.

"Ghh…"

Rosetta didn't flinch so much as she just felt tense and frustrated. It felt like a literal case of the deck being stacked against her, even if it wasn't really Hammond's fault as much as her own. She only barely remembered to glance at her critical Life Point amount of 700.

"Sacrificing Friller Rabca has its advantages, too! You cannot attack any of my fishes without me being able to stop the attack once, and lowering your attack points." Now it just sounded like Hammond was gloating. And Rosetta hated it. "Your move, lady!"

"Draw!" Rosetta took her card, and looked. Despite the feeling forming in her stomach, she had a moment of solace when she saw it was Lyna.

"Rosetta!"

She turned. Lyna had an intense look in her eyes. She seemed to want to, once again, grab Rosetta by the shoulders, with no success.

"Hey. Listen to me. Please get yourself together! I didn't know you would get like this… The game's supposed to be fun!"

"... Fun?" She muttered in response, rubbing her brow with a free hand. "This is not about fun. It's about doing a favor to you. Heck, it might even not pan out well. It's more of a gambit than anything. Maybe we shouldn't have-"

"Rosetta! I'm not talking about that!"

Lyna still bore that same expression. It felt so weird, when her card had her be always chirpy, and she had shown herself to be so throughout the day.

"I'm talking about here and now! You're playing, and you're losing! You got to get your cards working together!"

"I can't!" Rosetta insisted. "They don't go together, because they don't have a theme, or a set, or anything!"

She had been getting louder, and the whispers on her back just increased in volume. Thankfully, now she was busy listening to something more important.

"So what? You have to work with what you got, right? It's not the fault of the cards that they don't work themselves out! It's the fault of the player for not working them together into something!"

"Tsk…"

Rosetta understood that this was the case. But feeling like blaming herself was the last thing she needed now. What she needed to do was to keep going, and get this over with, for better or worse.

"You can still win! Just… think about it. Help me, and I'll help you. How about it?"

"But how can I help you? He has too many ways of destroying you."

"It's all in the cards you have."

Rosetta stared down at them again. She took a deep breath, and looked again. Hammond interjected on her thoughts.

"Finished talking to yourself? Are you going to make the turn count this time?"

It sounded like a challenge. And Rosetta felt she should honor it, as best she could.


	3. Sailing Steam

**Author's Note:** _Hello and thanks for the continued interest in this fanfic._

 _I'm glad that the way I wrote duels was tolerable for some people, but it seems to not be the best for others. In an attempt to fix this without breaking the narrative line, I'll bold the most relevant aspects of a duel, like new effects and Life Points whenever they show up. I hope this way they will become more apparent to readers, without breaking the concentration or immersion of the others. I'll edit the previous chapter with those changes soon. Thank you, and enjoy._

* * *

The port was active throughout the whole afternoon, but there were still those that gathered around the duel happening in the middle. The more Rosetta lost Life Points, the more self-conscious she felt, but she was also aware that she shouldn't back down just for that. With a deep breath, after her latest draw, she scouted the field.

Thankfully, she didn't need to dwell in much. Just the Golden Flying Fish, beating its wing-like fins at either side of him. Rosetta noticed in-passing that it wasn't a Water monster like the other fish Hammond had revealed so far. No other cards were set down on the field, but Hammond still had plenty of cards in hand. And while Rosetta had four in total, they didn't encourage her, save from the little light spellcaster that was amongst them, and also reflected in a person to her right.

Lyna had said that these cards could do it, and she might know better than Rosetta ever could. Each effect of the monsters and spells in Rosetta's hand were read through.

Then it clicked. Rosetta's eyes widened in realization. Hammond called it out, looking up from his own cards: he apparently had been reading effects as well.

"Are you gonna play anywhere within the next week, my friend?"

"Make it the last turn," Rosetta composed herself immediately, and took Lyna between two fingers of her free hand. The spellcaster, taking her cue, jumped her way towards the field. "I Set a monster!"

Rosetta followed Lyna's motion. So far, whenever she looked at Lyna, she just seemed only slightly more translucent than any other person. As she was stepping onto the field, however, she vanished. This made Rosetta freeze up momentarily. She eventually shook her head and chose another card.

This had always been out of place in her deck. She remembered liking a similar card, Book of Moon, and adding it to her deck at the time. Her oldest brother said that, combined with that, this card might come in handy. It never had, up to this point.

"I activate the spell **Book of Taiyou**!" Rosetta said, placing the spell in its place and seeing its face-up hologram hover so that the opponent could see it. " **I can now flip one face-down monster on the field into face-up Attack Position**!"

As she said so, Lyna's card flipped. There was a blinding shine of light over it, and once it subsided, Lyna stood over her own card. While being a spirit next to Rosetta, she had before worn a traveling cloak and had no wand or scepter to speak of. Now, however, she was using the same clothes that the card showed, as well as the same weapon. Lyna swung it around with some flair, then pointed forward menacingly.

Her attack value of **500** eventually flashed, and it impressed no onlookers, but Hammond was not as condescending. Instead, he set a hand to his chin.

"Must be a flip effect? That's new. You had no effect monsters so far."

Rosetta didn't recover as quickly from that one. In fact, she found herself gritting her teeth through some slight blushing.

"I-It's not my choice, OK!? More importantly… You guessed right." Rosetta raised a pointing finger. "Time for **Lyna's effect! When she flips, I can take control of a LIGHT monster you control!** And as it happens, your flying fish sure isn't a water monster!"

On the field, Lyna's wand glowed, and as if drawn to it, the Golden Flying Fish floated on towards it, eventually getting to the side of its new master and facing Hammond, which didn't complain.

"Now I'm going into the Battle Phase! Golden Flying Fish, attack! Bouncing… err, whatever it is you do!"

Despite the failed call, the fish still flew low and bounced out of its former master, seemingly impacting his body hard enough that the man staggered backwards with a yelp, while his Life Points decreased to **2300**.

"Now, Lyna! Direct attack! Shining Blast!"

The monster in question waved her wand upwards, forming a magic circle behind her. After a moment, she waved the wand away, and what seemed like lightning struck Hammond, which shielded himself with his arms. His Life Points decreased a measly bit, to **1800**.

"Hah! Not bad," he said, after it was over. "A good comeback. But don't forget: all I need to get my Flying Fish back is to destroy your monster that is controlling it. And I have more than enough cards to do that with."

"Too bad I'm not done yet."

"... What?"

At this, Hammond started looking worried. The whispers that had been around Rosetta since her rapid decline in Life Points had ceased by now. Rosetta looked one more time at one of her remaining two cards. Another brother had recommended that one. Maybe out of pity, since he knew that Rosetta had been left with so many monsters with no effects. But it would hopefully come in handy now.

"It's still my Battle Phase. And I need not leave it to activate this spell! **Berserker's Soul!** "

She set the card, and as the hologram floated up, some people let out exclamations of surprise behind her. This made her smile.

"First, **I discard my entire hand**." She only had one card, which she promptly sent away. "Now, **I'm going to reveal cards from the top of my deck until I don't reveal a monster. And for every monster that I reveal, I'll send it to the graveyard, and a monster of mine with 1500 or less attack can attack again!** While I can't use your fish for this… Lyna will certainly do the trick!"

"... Ah!" Hammond realized the danger, and his body tensed up, but his body language was still mostly the same. "And I can't activate Friller Rabca's effect, because you're not targeting any monsters…"

"Which means your fate is in my cards. Ready?"

She set two fingers over her deck. As she did, she heard an eerie silence. Seemed like everyone around them had stopped to see the result of the draws, which could decide the game. The tension, mixed with the excitement of possible success, actually had a very different effect from what Rosetta had expected this whole time.

Win or lose, Rosetta was having fun now.

"Let's go! Draw!" She drew, and immediately shot the card up for it to be seen. "Lunar Queen Elzaim, to the Graveyard! Lyna, go!"

Pumping her hand in the air, the Light Charmer made another magic circle appear just like that, and lightning struck down at Hammond, cutting his Life Points once again, now at **1300**.

"Again! Draw! Wetha, to the graveyard!" This time, Lyna didn't even wait for the call, making another bolt strike where Hammond stood. "Draw! Happy Lover, to the graveyard!" Another strike of lightning.

Rosetta set her fingers down again, and looked forward. **300** Life Points. Just one more.

"Draw!"

This one, she looked at first. Maiden of the Moonlight. One of her best monsters.

"You're finished!" She revealed it, to a generally surprised audience. "Maiden of the Moonlight to the graveyard! Lyna, final attack!"

Maybe because it was the final attack, or just because she felt like it, Lyna didn't use magic on this one. Instead, she jumped forward with wand slung over her shoulder, brought her weapon up mid-air, and struck down at Hammond with a vengeance. Almost like her attack was real, the fisherman groaned in pain and was flinged backwards while the strident noise of his Life Points decreasing ringed, ending in a flat " **0** ".

Rosetta sighed in relief. This had been a lot more excitement than she had been ready for during the day. But she had succeeded. Maybe now she could get her business going along. Once she looked up again, she saw a giggling Lyna approaching her. Weirdly, she must have still been appearing as a hologram, because Rosetta noticed two people following her movement with their eyes.

"Nice going! See, I knew you could do it!"

"There is no way you knew that Berserker's Soul would work," Rosetta whispered back, which made Lyna roll her eyes without losing her smile.

"Hey, I believed in it! I did see a lot of monster when you put me in the deck itself! I thought it was a safe guess."

Shrugging, but smiling as well, Rosetta noticed the Duel Disk turned itself off. Lyna still remained in front of her, but now she was back to being the slightest bit translucent. Rosetta looked over her shoulder, and Hammond had been busy taking out his own disk, and walking a short way forward towards her.

"Well done, lady. A promise is a promise. You want to take off now? If we start now, I think we can reach Duel Academy at nighttime."

"Yes, please."

* * *

The fishing vessel had seemed big from afar. Now that they were off the shore and riding it towards the horizon, it felt even bigger.

The bridge was wide and spacious, and between its walls was everything one would need for a reasonable life aboard. Wooden slabs protruding from the walls and covered in covered foam made comfortable seats and makeshift beds. A nearby bigger and smoother slab could be used for a table in the corner, with crates underneath containing some fresh fruit, water and other edibles. Hammond stood on the other end of the bridge, where he could steer and had buttons to command the winch behind. The main deck did inevitably smell like fish, but Rosetta counted her blessings as she sat by the inner wall. Lyna, meanwhile, was lying down next to her.

"This is pretty much a living space," Rosetta commented at some point. "Did you make it yourself?"

"Nope. Would not be good with that," Hammond answered, without looking back. He had been staring between the way forward and a compass affixed to the panel. "That was my wife's idea. Said it'd make long trips that much easier."

Rosetta nodded. She just remembered about his wife, whose duel disk she had used during that duel.

"So you sailed together? Did she work by fishing too?"

"Hah! At some point, we both did. We worked together and lived together."

"Live? As in, on the ship?"

"Yes. She was a free spirit, you see. Though she had a comfortable home to go back to, and no want in her life, she still wanted to be out here, looking far and wide. An adventurous spirit."

Rosetta fell silent. As willing as Hammond had sounded like when talking about her, he did say it in the past tense, which filled Rosetta with a dreadful impression that she didn't feel like confirming. Despite that, Hammond continued, in mostly the same tone as before.

"We had one beautiful daughter. This is why she built all of that back there. Just so we had a place to live around while we were out in the sea."

"A daughter? … How old is she?"

Rosetta thought that this might be a safer question, but she came to regret it. Hammond looked back at her with a squint, as if he was trying to see her from very far.

"She'd be… younger than you, I'd imagine."

"What… do you mean?"

He looked forward again. Rosetta scratched her neck. She walked into that, but it'd just have been awkward to retract her statement from before.

"Lost at sea. It's been too long. Must be more than 10 years now. That's how she and Helen- … Well." He took a deeper breath. "Shouldn't be going on about that with someone I've just met."

"... I'm sorry."

"... Can't let it bring me down my whole life. Don't worry. I'm sure you have your own stuff to carry, even if you ain't telling me."

Rosetta went silent again. She sideglanced towards Lyna, which laid on her side, but was listening as evidenced by her lifting her gaze up to Rosetta when observed. Her head tilted. Rosetta closed her eyes and leaned further against the wall.

The voyage continued, filled with the mild sound of crashing and agitated water, and the salty smell it perpetuated. It was an hour or two more before they shared a meal together, which was surprisingly hefty for being in a small moving vessel. Some fruit, cereal bars and fish that could be grilled at will on a small box on the other corner of the bridge, containing metal bars and wood with which you could nurture a small fire. It was definitely more than Rosetta expected.

"You're still paying for whatever you get, lady," Hammond announced, in a happier tone. "But that also means you can eat as much as you want. Go ahead!"

After the meal, Rosetta wandered a bit on the limited space of the main deck, and took in the beauty of the sky and water all around them. Lyna followed along after a nap, and both of them hanged together at one edge for a while.

"Thanks for the moral support," Rosetta spoke, lowering her voice just enough so that Hammond might not think she was talking to herself. "You know, back in the duel. I guess I was getting frustrated there."

"You were!" Lyna said, raising a finger knowingly. Rosetta stared, a bit taken aback by such a sudden affirmative. "You can't let that happen! All you need to do is figure out how to best use all cards together! During that duel, you were pretty much just using one sort of card or effect at a time!"

"... I suppose, but I don't have a choice. Most monsters I have don't have effects, and I don't have cards that work well with certain types. As I said, it's a deck without a type."

"That is no excuse! … But why is it like that, anyway?"

Now Lyna sounded curious. Rosetta chuckled.

"I thought I had told you, but maybe I didn't. I never really cared too much for Duel Monsters, but my brothers did. This is why they went to the academy and I didn't. When they were around, sometimes they'd give me cards they didn't want, just so they had someone to duel against that wasn't just each other."

"Ahh. But that is kinda sad!" Lyna pouted, indignant in Rosetta's behalf. "Didn't you wish to make a deck with a theme that you wanted?"

"I tried to. I… always liked the moon, so I went after a lot of cards that had some relation to that. Unfortunately, most of them aren't perfect, but it helps the deck to feel more like… mine, y'know."

"I see. And don't worry!" Lyna puffed her chest again. "Even if we don't get many other great cards, I can carry you to victory like I did before! Wasn't that cool!?"

Lyna went on a tangent on describing why her ability was one of the best in the game. Rosetta sometimes poked a hole on her bubble so it didn't get too big, and Lyna complained about that. They kept in this somewhat steady routine for a good chunk of the trip, only being interrupted well into the talk by Hammond, which left the controls a bit to check on her.

"You thinking about the duel?" He asked, making Rosetta stiffen up and look back.

"A-Ah… n-not exactly that duel! Just, y'know… thinking about Duel Monsters. Because that's… well, that's normal, right?"

From what she observed in society, it should be the most normal thing in the world, but no matter the case, phrasing it like that was going to sound awkward.

Nonetheless, it made Hammond have a hearty laugh and show his deck momentarily.

"If you need better ideas on what cards to use, you can always check my wife's deck. She was an excellent duelist, after all."

Rosetta took the deck in her hands, skeptic eyes sizing up her fisherman friend.

"... You're low-key making fun of me, aren't you?" She asked. When no reply save for a smile came, she started looking through the deck. She stopped at a familiar face. "Wait… Golden Flying Fish? Isn't that your deck?"

"Nah. But it's the deck I used against you, yes."

Rosetta tilted her head, puzzled. She thought back to the duel. More than once, it had seemed like Hammond took the time to read his cards. Was that the reason? Because they weren't actually his cards?

"Why?" She asked, simply.

Hammond did not reply immediately. He seemed to gaze into the infinite of the sky as he mused for an answer.

"Let's just say… It gotta look more normal for a fisherman to use a fish deck than anything else, right?"

He looked at Rosetta, which realized that she had made fun of that very thing earlier. Feeling awkward, she crossed her arms and looked away.

"... I guess."

There might have been a better reason, but she didn't feel like she could just ask it now. So she left the subject die.

It was not long after that, just as the night started settling and the interior of the ship became all the more eerie and hard to see, when Hammond announced something else entirely

"We're getting there."

Rosetta stood up and looked forward. The tip of a volcano started to show on the horizon. It rose up along with the rest of the wider landmass. The steam and smoke exuding from the volcano felt hot just by looking at it.

The sight made Rosetta's body a bit colder. All that she was doing started feeling much more real. She had hired help to get into Duel Academy grounds, but she was not doing so legally. It had seemed so trivial when thinking about the situation while remaining distant from it, but now that it was around the corner, her stomach started to turn.

Hammond steered the ship around the perimeter and towards a lighthouse, and soon the group found themselves by a pier, which no one yet in sight. Once docked, Hammond turned to Rosetta.

"How long until you do what you gotta do?"

Rosetta thought about it with a hand to her chin.

"... How long can you remain here?"

"I'm stocked, so that's not a problem, but I rather not be here by sunrise, or the staff and people in the ferry or supply ship are gonna start making questions."

"... Got it. I'll try not to stay longer than midnight. Lyna, let's go."

"Right behind you!" The spirit chimed, and together they moved to exit the bridge.

"What did you say?"

Rosetta looked back to a confused Hammond. Realizing that she called out her invisible partner's name, Rosetta blushed and shook her hands forwards in denial.

"N-Nothing! You heard nothing! I don't… It's not like I talk to my cards or anything. J-Just forget it."

She stepped off, dismayed by the laughter of the fisherman she left behind, and parroted by Lyna herself.

"You look really cute when you're flustered," the spirit teased, motioning as if she was going to pat Rosetta's shoulder, which the woman promptly tried slapping away, to no avail.

" _Shut up._ "

* * *

For Rosetta's plan to work, they had to identify someone that could see this kind of spirit. But asking every student directly was out of the question. Instead, Rosetta decided for a different approach: they would search for spirits first, and hope they were with someone already. Then they could talk.

Rosetta and Lyna circled the campus. Due to her siblings, Rosetta was familiar with the dorms around, and the general layout of the island, but navigating around without being seen meant they had to take paths across the forest or wherever there were few people and some cover. Lyna could only follow, but she helped in some other way.

"I can feel it. We're getting close to one... " She said, while they trailed down a dirt path at some point.

"Are you sure these are other spirits?" Rosetta asked. Lyna nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! We may not be able to check for sure now, but I'm pretty sure."

"It just seems weird you felt them closer to the Slifer Red dorm," Rosetta mused, crossing her arms. "I mean, wouldn't duel spirits gravitate towards the better duelists? Not that I know why they'd be around in the first place…"

"I think it can go either way! I mean, you found me, didn't you?" Lyna teased, smiling at Rosetta, which got visibly annoyed.

"As far as you've seen, I have a 100% win record, so don't be getting sassy on me."

"Heheh. And you're welcome for that record! … Hm?"

When the joking stopped, Rosetta looked forward. They had come across some sort of well. It was weirdly placed all the way out there, and there seemed to be no bucket nearby to draw water with, or mechanism to lower or raise it. Upon closer inspection, however, there was definitely some kind of rope attached to the inside, that apparently went down towards the bottom.

"Rosetta. There is one down there," Lyna said, looking down into the darkness.

"Ahh… Are you sure?" Rosetta looked down, not able to see the bottom. Then she tugged on the rope, to make sure it was steady. It seemed to be.

"Yeah. We might have to go down."

"I realized," Rosetta said, with a sigh. "But it can't be helped, can it? Though I doubt there's someone with the spirit down there…"

"You never know! Someone has to have put this rope here for a reason, right?"

"... Good point."

Rosetta took a deep breath, then held the rope firmly with both hands, and slowly put herself on the edge, ready to support her own weight as soon as letting her center of gravity go. She was no athlete, but she managed the motion with no problem. Slowly she lowered herself into the darkness, until the inside of her hands started to sting and her arms fatigued. Before she lost strength, her feet touched the ground, surprisingly lacking in water, and so she let go.

For a moment, she saw nothing but pitch-black darkness. The only light source was the moon overheard shining down onto the dirt floor. Rosetta saw what seemed like the edge of a trading card by that light.

She was in the process of taking her cell phone out and using it as a flashlight when she heard Lyna gasp in surprise, and go into the darkness.

" _DHARC_!"


End file.
